Hints and tips:
...The FT’s US pharmaceutical correspondent Jamie Smyth helps us explore whether J&J’s use of this manoeuvre is setting a precedent for corporations to evade accountability in America....
...“It will require J&J to litigate talc claims on a state-by-state basis and leave talc as an ongoing overhang on shares.”...
...J&J has already ceased sales of talc-based powder in the US and Canada, and said recently it would phase out worldwide sales of its talc-based baby powder in 2023....
...In this week’s episode, we explore whether J&J’s use of this manoeuvre is setting a new precedent for corporations to evade accountability in America....
...LTL then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which put a stay on talc claims....
...It stopped selling talc-based baby powder in North America last year....
...J&J has denied its talc contains asbestos and can cause cancer....
...But more companies, like J&J facing thousands of lawsuits over faulty products across America, are likely to follow suit into bankruptcy court....
...Running out the clock The University of Texas has used its lucrative swath of America’s largest oilfield to build an endowment that rivals Harvard....
...Financial analysts appear less concerned about the talc liability’s impact on J&J’s bottom line....
...J&J has denied its talc contains asbestos and can cause cancer. This isn’t Jones Day’s first rodeo....
...The Two-Step’s burgeoning use among scandal-tainted corporates, which is still being tested legally, erodes consumer rights across America....
...Mourad is a former Morgan Stanley banker who has worked closely with Patrick Drahi’s Altice and most recently as head of global corporate and investment banking at Bank of America in France....
...The decision to drop talc-based baby powder came as J&J slims down its lines, in part because of the Covid-19 crisis....
...John Cecil (possibly second left) of Kallo Inc, an American healthtech thing that has had some dealings in Ghana....
...“Our talc is safe,” says one ad in major print and online outlets....
...While the figures were high — the largest so far in the talc litigation, according to Reuters — such awards are often later reduced or overturned....
...“We see momentum resurging in North America as Nike recaptures lost share from Adidas....
...ordered by a state jury in Missouri to pay $72m in damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to several decades of use of the company’s baby powder and another of its talc-based...
...Imerys’ bid, the second to be accepted by Amcol’s board, is not dependent on any financing. Analysts have been positive about the impact such a takeover would have for the Imerys share price....
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